World War II: The United States at War

World War II redrew the map of the world. No longer would Europe be the center of power. As the continent exhausted itself in yet another war, two new nations with conflicting ideologies were rising to prominence: the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Both nations would eventually fight on the same side in World War II, but they would not emerge as partners.

The Vietnam War, Part 2

After WWII, Korea was divided in half at the 38th parallel. To the north were the Communists; to the south were the United Nations peacekeeping forces. In June 1950, North Korean soldiers backed by Soviet-built tanks poured across the parallel. The Korean conflict became on of the first expressions of the Cold War between Russia and America. It was an attempt to balance the power that had been thrown so badly out of alignment by WWII. But Korea would bring victory to neither side.

The Korean War-Vietnam, Part 1

After WWII, Korea was divided in half at the 38th parallel. To the north were the Communists; to the south were the United Nations peacekeeping forces. In June 1950, North Korean soldiers backed by Soviet-built tanks poured across the parallel. The Korean conflict became on of the first expressions of the Cold War between Russia and America. It was an attempt to balance the power that had been thrown so badly out of alignment by WWII. But Korea would bring victory to neither side.

World War I, Part 2

By early August 1914, the world was convulsed by the first world war, which engulfed Europe. On the western front, there was constant carnage, but little movement. Soldiers bled and died to win a stretch of dirt, which was quickly lost again. Europe seemed to be deadlocked in a bloodletting frenzy. As the nation-states battled, they awaited the response of the greatest of the neutral powers: the United States.

The Spanish-American War-World War I, Part 1

On April 25th, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain. Less than seven months later, a victorious America claimed the former Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands. To the American diplomat John Hay, the Spanish-American War was "a splendid little war". It had been popular, brief, and inexpensive, especially in terms of casualties. But the Spanish-American War marked a change in America's international role.

The Mexican-American War

On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress declared war on Mexico. Although the Mexican-American War lasted only 18 months, its consequences were profound. Mexico lost nearly half of its territory to the United States: Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Some historians have described this conflict as America's first step toward empire.

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Publisher's Summary

Historians have said that World War II was a continuation of World War I, but with greater violence and less regard for the values of civilization. The Treaty of Versailles, which had officially ended WWI, had caused the European balance of power to swing wildly. Germany had been stripped of her colonies, divided into pieces, and burdened with a staggering war debt. New nations were created; old hostilities were renewed. Some of these hostilities had found a voice in a new political philosophy: fascism.

In the Pacific, Japan's ambitions would bring her into conflict with America. Both nations laid claim to the markets of Asia; in particular, to the fabled markets of China. Both were willing to use force to obtain them.

In Germany, Hitler established a Third Reich, to last a thousand years. In Italy, Mussolini declared a new Roman Empire to reinstate the glory that had been Rome. In Japan, Emperor Hirohito presided over the Empire of the Rising Sun. Against these forces stood Britain, France, and the Netherlands, countries that wanted the map of the world to remain unchanged. The result was war. On the sidelines, America would watch and wait as the outlines of the war unfolded. On December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy, Japanese planes bombed the American naval installation at Pearl Harbor. The United States was now at war with Japan in the Pacific. The United States was also at war with the Axis powers in Europe. The Pacific and European War became formally linked. In 1941, prospects for the Allied powers were not bright.

Then, Hitler made a fatal blunder: his German army invaded Russia. In Italy, Mussolini lost control of the people. In the Pacific, the Japanese war machine was on the defensive. As the war tilted in favor of the Allies, the three major Allied powers, America, Britain, and Soviet Russia, met at three major conferences during 1943-1945. At these meetings they would divide up the postwar world.